ADVERTISEMENT

Pro-Obamacare Group Targets Three GOP Senators on Tax Bill

McCain
John McCain / Getty
November 17, 2017

A liberal coalition that supports Obamacare is targeting three Republican senators on the airwaves, urging them to vote against the GOP tax bill after they bucked their party's Senate vote to repeal Obamacare over the summer.

Save My Care is focusing on Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), John McCain (Ariz.), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), believing they are the Republicans most likely to vote against the Senate GOP tax reform plan after Republican leaders added a repeal of Obamacare's individual health insurance mandate to the bill, Politico reported Friday.

Next week's six-figure ad buy comes at a time when liberal activists around the country are mobilizing on the grassroots level against the legislation, according to Politico.

The McCain-focused ad praises the Arizona Republican for having "been a hero for Arizona and the country" by opposing the GOP's Obamacare repeal bill in July, according to an advance copy shared with Politico, and the Alaska ad uses similar language to address Murkowski. The ad running in Collins' home state takes more direct aim at the GOP tax bill for using repeal of Obamacare's insurance mandate to help pay for tax cuts for individuals and corporations.

"President Trump and Republicans in Congress are ignoring bipartisan opposition and trying to sneak health care into their tax plan," the ad states. "Why? To pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations."

Collins, McCain, and Murkowski voted against a so-called "skinny" repeal of Obamacare in July, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump.

Senate Republican leaders have said that repealing the individual mandate is a de facto tax cut for lower-income and middle-class individuals, because they would otherwise be required to buy health insurance or face a fine.

The Senate is expected to consider the tax bill on the floor when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill after Thanksgiving.

Save My Care launched a seven-figure ad campaign against at least 24 House Republicans earlier this year. Republicans have attempted to repeal Obamacare multiple times this year but have been unsuccessful.